Cedros fishermen want bread on their table

“Today it have plenty business people, boat owners, who owing the bank. How would we pay our loans? We will wait for the bank to come and just take up boats and engine (and) just go with it? We are pleading with the Government, do something for us now, do something for us today, within a week, do something for us.” This follows six weeks of staggering losses following claims by an activist group that fish from the area were contaminated by the chemical COREXIT.

On August 19, 2016, via a joint statement, the Ministry of Planning and Development, the Environmental Management Authority (EMA), the Institute of Marine Affairs (IMA) and the Caribbean Industrial Research Institution (CARIRI), said tests had ruled out COREXIT, algal bloom and internal parasites as being responsible for the initial incident of dead fish.

It was determined that dumping of bycatch was responsible for the first occurrence of dead fish, which included herring, mullet and catfish.

Three weeks later, fisherfolk are still waiting on word about whether or not these samples were sent abroad for further testing.

They lamented however that consumers remain wary about eating locally-caught fish.

Hence a second plea from Nurse, a boat owner and trustee with the Fullerton Fisherfolk Association in Fullerton Village, Cedros.

“We asking please, Prime Minister, Minister of Planning (Camille Robinson-Regis), help us. Allyuh help us to help our families.

We need a bread on our table. Just as you want to live, we want to live too. Our kids have to live.” Nurse was speaking on Friday afternoon during a press conference at Hotel Normandie, St Anns, Port-of-Spain. Attorney, Gerald Ramdeen, who is representing the group of fisherfolk free-of-charge, told the media he would be bearing the costs of sending “raw” fish samples to the United States’ Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in order to present additional proof that local fish is indeed safe to eat.